It’s that time of year again! No I’m not referring to pumpkins, leaves changing color, cool weather or football. It’s time to renew or change your health insurance plan. Now that you have become a patient of ours or soon plan to be and are taking advantage of all that Direct Primary Care offers it can make choosing your new plan from the state, government, employer or direct from the vendor more confusing than before. There are often many choices, with slight differences that are difficult to decipher. Beyond that, because price transparency is such an issue in healthcare, it is often hard to plan or budget for future costs when there is no way to find out how much these services actually cost! Below, I’ve tried to outline a couple tips while going through this process. (Of course if you would like to sit down with us and go over this we would be happy to oblige) 1)Nothing is free!!: Many patients get a large portion of their health insurance paid for by a third party (employer, government, etc). This creates the notion that health care is cheap or free in certain situations. Please remember that although you may not pay much in monthly premiums or out of pocket costs for your insurance, your employer is likely paying an for health care services you may not even use.
2)Know your family: Unfortunately, because this can be so complicated, many patients simply select the most inclusive insurance options, which are also the most expensive. Sit down and review what medical services you and your family have used over the past few years. What medications do you require monthly, if any? Do you see specialists, and why? Do you know of any bigger health expenses that may come up next year (like planning for a child or an elective surgery?) If you feel that what you will need most is just your primary care which would be covered within your subscription to our practice it allows you to avoid the so called “Cadillac” plans and be more frugal in the selection of your plan. 3)Premiums and Deductibles: Just to review, a premium is the amount that you (or a third party) pay monthly for the privilege of being insured. The deductible is the total amount of out of pocket costs you and your family can incur during the year on top of the monthly premium you already pay. The lower your monthly premiums, the higher your out of pocket costs may be. For instance, for a young family of 4 buying insurance from BCBS, the monthly premium for a $2,000 deductible plan is about $500 more a month than the $10,000 deductible plan… that’s $6,000 extra in monthly premiums over the course of the year! When most of our patients do the math they often will raise their deductible to save on their monthly premiums knowing that a good majority of their care will be covered by their subscription to our practice. Leaving their insurance to just cover major issues or catastrophes.” Even the $2000 deductible plan listed above leaves a family paying out of pocket for much of their costs in a year. Those costs are often inflated because of insurance and the amount is completely unknown to the patient prior to utilizing the service (try to think of another purchase you make where you do not know the cost prior to buying?!?) So, if you have a relatively healthy family, ask yourself why you (or your employer) pay so much more in premiums for, what should be, cheap and comprehensive primary care services. And wouldn’t you want an affordable, budgetable, transparent monthly fee that will cover most everything that will come up during a given year including keeping you out of the urgent care and emergency room (both costly services)? If you do have some chronic medical concerns, think about the specialists you are seeing and the medications you are on. Are your current doctors taking your finances into consideration or prescribing and ordering expensive medications/tests without thinking about it? Do they use technology to help track health outcomes in real time, expedite changes in treatment plans and save you trips to the office, like Twine? If not, it’s probably worth making an appointment here at Direct Doctors so we can discuss how our practice may work with your medical and insurance needs. The best part is, the consultation is free!
43 Comments
8/31/2021 10:56:01 am
I want to make sure that I get the right insurance to keep me covered. It makes sense that health insurance would be important. I'll be sure to work with a professional to help me out with this.
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9/28/2021 09:34:29 am
I'll remember that nothing is free when it comes to insurance. I'd like to get the best plan for me and my family. Which means I might need to pay a bit more.
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Thanks for pointing out that it would be best to sit down and understand the health care services our family needs to get the right coverage. I will keep that in mind now that I plan to look for a health insurance agency to get covered. We just need it now that there is a pandemic going on so that I am sure that my family is protected no matter the financial aspect we are in.
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11/24/2021 09:05:21 pm
Thanks for helping me understand that the premiums would be the amount that we will pay monthly for the privilege of being insured. I just needed to know about this since I plan to finally have my own health insurance to secure myself. It's because I am turning 30 next year, and I know that I am not getting any younger that is why it seems that it would be best to invest in this.
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12/7/2021 10:08:34 pm
As I'm getting older i am now and the stage of realizing that health care is something i should consider. So, I'm looking into Medicare plans that is the right fit for my age and financial bracket. Thanks for mentioning here that higher premium means lesser out of the pocket expenses but you should also consider how often you might need health services in the future depending on your condition.
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12/13/2021 06:18:13 pm
It was really interesting when you mentioned that there are many options to pick from when it comes to purchasing health insurance. My wife and I would like to find health insurance we can use in the event that we have a child. Having health insurance will help us pay for things that come with having a child.
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1/4/2022 10:24:03 am
I never knew that It’s time to renew or change my health insurance plan. I never thought that it would be like this, it is an intriguing article to read and I will also share this with my aunt. Thank you for the information about insurance.
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1/4/2022 11:44:16 am
This post made an excellent point that when considering to get life insurance, it is best that we are mindful of their coverage and deductibles. It makes sense as that way, we will have a comprehensive idea of how the insurance benefits us. I will definitely keep this information in mind for future references when I look to get insurance.
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1/5/2022 10:24:31 pm
Thanks for sharing such great information. It is really helpful to me. I always search to read the quality content and finally I found your post. Keep it up, keep posting!
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1/11/2022 10:29:41 pm
I never knew that because price transparency is such an issue in healthcare, it is often hard to plan or budget for future costs when there is no way to find out how much these services actually cost. Having health insurance is really important for the future. Thank you for the information about insurance.
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1/18/2022 01:08:30 am
This is a very helpful post. It's great to discuss premiums, deductibles, and other costs, as well as the advantages of choosing comprehensive primary care.
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2/9/2022 04:32:48 am
I found it interesting when you said now that you've become a patient of ours, or soon will be, and are taking advantage of everything Direct Primary Care has to offer, it might be more difficult than ever to choose your new plan from the state, government, employer, or directly from the vendor. I used to think differently about it not until you explained it briefly and it really got my attention. What you said about health insurance was really interesting to me.
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2/15/2022 08:02:04 pm
I appreciate what you said about how the higher your deductible, you will have lower premiums. I need to have more coverage for potential diseases that run in my family history. I'll have to consider getting a medicare specialist to help me understand my options.
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3/7/2022 02:40:21 pm
Thank you so much for letting me express my feelings about your post. You write every blog post so well. Keep the hard work going and good luck. Hope to see such a beneficial post ahead too.
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3/9/2022 11:12:38 pm
I appreciated it the most when you discussed that you may have higher out-of-pocket costs if you have lower monthly premiums. I find it helpful since I'm planning to get vision insurance. I better go to a reliable insurance provider to see which plan is best for me.
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3/10/2022 08:04:55 pm
I like how you mentioned that it is important to consider the best coverage that will suit your needs. My aunt mentioned to me last night that she wants to fix her insurance plan coverage and asked me if I have any idea what is the best option to do. I wanted to thank you for your explanation about the importance of planning and I'll be sure to tell her that we can consult a health insurance service as they can help us answer all our inquiries.
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3/24/2022 05:39:25 am
Dear
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4/5/2022 05:39:37 pm
It really helped when you explained how to find the right insurance policy for our family. The other day, my wife and I realized that our current job doesn't offer insurance. That's why we'd like to explore our options and get an insurance plan for our family. We appreciate your intake on making a list of healthcare requirements that we have before choosing an insurance plan.
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4/12/2022 05:30:25 am
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4/30/2022 01:16:14 am
I liked how this post explained that a premium is an amount that you pay monthly. My friend wants a Medicare insurance policy that fits her needs. I think she should look for an insurance provider that offers tailored coverage.
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6/7/2022 07:22:30 am
I enjoyed reading the article above, it explains everything in detail, the article is very interesting and effective. Thank you and good luck with the upcoming articles.
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8/4/2022 07:42:32 am
Thanks for sharing such great information. It is really helpful to me. I always search to read the quality content and finally I found your post. Keep it up, keep posting!
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9/6/2022 12:25:14 pm
There are several kinds of insurance policy on call on the market place today, yet each of all of them have to do with securing our company, family members, or even things from some type of monetary loss.
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9/14/2022 04:46:03 am
We’ve taken the guesswork out of finding the best Company by analysing important factors that will affect your customer experience. We evaluated large Company companies based on average rates for a variety of drivers, coverage features available, levels of complaints, grades for collision claims from auto body repair professionals, and how understandable the insurers’ websites are
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12/16/2022 04:56:43 am
Picking an insurance plan can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. It's important to understand your needs and research the different plans that are available. Consider talking to an insurance expert or financial advisor to help you make the best choice for you. Ultimately, the best insurance plan is the one that will give you peace of mind knowing that you and your family are protected in any situation.
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12/29/2022 04:04:29 am
We appreciate you telling us to take some time to consider the medical care you and your family have used over the past few years. My daughter, who currently holds a steady job, plans to purchase life insurance for both her and her family. Before choosing a life insurance company, I'll evaluate with her the medical services we've used in the past.
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1/18/2023 09:57:10 am
It's important to be prepared for anything life throws your way and having health insurance is a great way to protect yourself. I'm going to work with a professional to make sure that I get the right policy for me.
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1/24/2023 01:13:30 am
I love that you talked that you should consider understanding your family condition for inclusive options of your insurance plan. The other day, my aunt mentioned that she wanted to fix her insurance plan coverage to make the most out of her insurance. She asked me if I had any idea what would be the best option to consider. I wanted to thank you for explaining the importance of planning, I'll tell her that we can consult a health insurance service as they can help us answer all our inquiries.
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2/2/2023 10:33:12 am
Introduction
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AuthorLauren Hedde, DO; James Hedde, DO and Mark Turshen, MD are Family Physicians and Co- Founders of Direct Doctors, Inc. a Direct Primary Care Practice. Archives
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